This notice is to announce that the comment period on the
Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) Position
Statements has been extended until February 3, 2012.

OLAW has developed Position
Statements to clarify the ways in which NIH expects Assured institutions to
implement the 8th Edition of the Guide
for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Guide) by addressing the following concerns:
cost of implementing the 8th Edition of the Guide;
animal housing specifications; use of non-pharmaceutical-grade compounds; food
and fluid restrictions; multiple surgical procedures; and application of the
8th Edition of the Guide to agricultural animals used in biomedical research. Links are provided for the
public to submit comments on their understanding of the Position Statements. In
response, OLAW may further clarify the Position Statements.